Deputy Minister Mama Bongi Maria Ntuli,
MECs here present,
Editor of The New Age, Mr Moegsien Williams,
Captains and leaders of the business sector,
Senior Managers of Social Development, National Development Agency (NDA) and South African Social Security Agency (SASSA)
SABC viewers at home,
Good morning.
Thank you Mr Peter Ndoro for your kind words of introduction. I would like to thank you all for taking time out off your busy schedules to listen to our presentation this morning.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to discuss with you this important issue of Early Childhood Development (ECD). ECD is about the future of our children and securing the future of our country.
Education is without a doubt, the propeller of national development and the most viable instrument to tackle the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Children have a right, as expressed in our Constitution and international instruments such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to receive education.
South African children cannot be denied the benefits of this fundamental right.
The provision of quality ECD must be considered part of that right. ECD has been recognised as thee most powerful tool of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty and in making a real and lasting difference in children’s lives. Recent research, including the report of the South African Child Gauge 2013 reaffirms the significance of ECD in determining future health, behaviour and learning outcomes.
Research also confirms that the first 1,000 days of life from conception to two years old is a particularly sensitive and rapid period of development. The National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030 identifies education as one of the central pillars to South Africa’s long-term development. Furthermore, the NDP views ECD as critical for ensuring that children are able to reach their full potential.
Government is committed to ensuring that every child, including children from poor socio-economic backgrounds and children with disabilities have access to ECD at an early age. To this end, Cabinet has established an Inter-Ministerial Committee to coordinate and ensure implementation of the Integrated Programme of Action on ECD.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2011 Census Report showed that over 5.6-million South Africans are under the age of four. Of this number, it is estimated that 57 percent of children in this age cohort do not attend registered ECD centres.
The huge numbers of children who are not benefiting from ECD services, coupled with other challenges such as poor infrastructure pose a serious challenge. This calls for a holistic, inter-sectoral and integrated action for the common good of our children. Their survival, care and protection is a national priority.
This is an important aspect of our social inclusion agenda. The aim of the Adopt-an-ECD initiative, a brainchild of the National Development Agency (NDA) to take forward ECD as a public good as pronounced by the ruling party at its 53rd National Conference in Mangaung in 2012.
Given this imperative, what is the strategic and competitive advantage for business, government and civil society organisations in working together when it comes to investing in an early start for our children? The bottom line is that improving the lives of children is a shared national responsibility.
As we work towards the celebration of 20 years of freedom, we identified ECD as the most immediate priority. Our record shows that we have made significant strides. For example, by the end of 2012, more than Nine Hundred and Eighty Four Thousand children were accessing ECD services. We have also increased the number of children that are directly subsidised by more than 100 percent, from Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand children in 1995 to more than Five Hundred and Fourty Five Thousand to date.
One of the key achievements in this regard was the equalisation of ECD subsidy for children across all provinces (R15 per child per day).
Recently, MINMEC also approved the proposal to increase the number of days children spend at an ECD centre from 165 to 220 per year.
The number of registered ECD facilities has grown from 4 612 in 2004/05 financial year to over Twenty One Thousand this year. We are currently conducting an audit of ECD centres to obtain information on the nature and extent of early childhood development provisioning, services, resources and infrastructure in order to inform and support on-going policy and planning initiatives.
These successes would not be possible were it not for the contribution of many of our social partners, some of whom are in our midst this morning. In particular, we would like to thank UNICEF and civil society organisations for their on-going support.
Ladies and Gentlemen, while Government has taken a lead in this area, the reality is that we cannot do it alone. There is no better time than now, for us to work together.
Essentially, the Adopt-an-ECD initiative is a starting point for a joint national action to improve universal access to ECD services. This campaign sets an important agenda for the transformation of ECD in South, Africa through public private partnerships.
The 2012 National ECD Conference identified key policy issues in this sector. This includes a new comprehensive ECD funding model; amendment of the Children’s Act; improvement of the ECD workforce development; implementation of the minimum national norms and standards; as well as modernisation of ECD infrastructure.
By the end of this financial year, we aim to finalise a national ECD policy which will define an essential package of services. This is part of our agenda to make ECD a public good.
Ladies and Gentlemen, ECD forms part of our prevention and early intervention child protection services. The increasing number of children who have become vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation, as demonstrated by the recent horrific attacks on children in Diepsloot, is a case in point. There is a greater need to improve efforts for a comprehensive approach in handling matters related to child protection through partnerships. This initiative presents us with that opportunity.
I would like to conclude my address by reminding of the African idiom: “it takes a village to raise a child”. This initiative is about bringing together the village to raise and protect the future of our country. The time is now for business to make a difference by targeting children most in need and putting our resources where they have greater potential to make a long lasting difference.
We urge you to join hands with us in this initiative. Our aim is to have at least one ECD programme in every ward. The economic and social costs of not taking action by investing in an early start are far too great to ignore, especially, when it is abundantly clear that the benefits far outweigh the costs. As Mandela said: “there can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”.
As members of the business sector, civil society and government, your partnership and support to this noble cause is crucial in making a difference in the lives of South African children. This is an ethical imperative and a critical economic and social investment. While Government has a primary responsibility to invest in an early start for a better future, so do all of us in this room as parents, educators, leaders in respective sectors, including the business sector.
There are unlimited possibilities for business to get involved in this initiative and to build bridges of economic and social prosperity for many of our children. We therefore, extend our hand in partnership with you and together let us work for a South Africa fit for children. The bottom line is that investing in ECD makes good business case. We therefore count on your support for the success of this initiative.
I thank you
